Should marriage be a way out for rapists?

“He who, without violence, threat or fraud, abducts or
deceives a minor under 18 years of age, shall be punished by
imprisonment for 1 to 5 years and a fine of 200 to 500
dirhams.

If the nubile who was removed or deceived marries her
abductor, he can no longer be prosecuted except by the persons
empowered to demand the annulment of the marriage, and then only
after the annulment has been proclaimed.”

Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal Code.

The Second paragraph of the above provision allows a rapist to
marry his victim if she is a minor as a way of avoiding
prosecution. There is a general outcry for the repeal of this
provision. According to women’s rights organizations in Morocco,
this provision has been applied in cases of rape in order to
preserve the so-called “honour” of the victim and her family. I
personally do not see anything right about this provision and
would love to talk about its demerits.

Firstly, Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal Code promotes
child marriage. The outcry against child marriage can be heard
all over the world and legislation and policy making has been one
of the most effective tools used in fighting this practice. Most
countries have passed laws prohibiting the marriage of a child
under the age of 18. Proper sensitization and implementation of
these laws go a long way in reducing the rate of child marriages
in some parts of the world. Out of 54 African countries, 33 have
set the minimum age of marriage at 18 for both girls and boys,
while a further four have set it above the age of 18 for both
(these are Algeria, Lesotho, Libya and Rwanda). This sets a
strong legal framework to help protect children from child
marriage and keep children, particularly girls, in school. In the
remaining African countries, the minimum age is either
discriminatory or under 18. However, notwithstanding such
progress, there are some countries which despite requiring a
minimum age for marriage, also provides for an exception to that
minimum age upon parental consent or court’s authorisation. For
example, in Angola the minimum age for marriage is 18; however,
the law allows for marriages below the age of 16 for boys and 15
for girls upon obtaining consent of parents which is mandatory in
such cases. In Burkina Faso, the minimum age to marry is 17 for
girls and 20 for boys; however, the Civil Court must undertake
the necessary investigation where an exemption will not be
granted for a man under 18 years and a woman under 15 years. In
Ethiopia, the minimum age to marry is 18 but the law authorises
the Minister of Justice to authorise marriages of persons aged
under 18. In Morocco the minimum age to marry is 18, but Article
475 of the penal code indirectly allows child marriage. It is
woeful that the same legislation that is used in fighting against
child marriage is indirectly used to allow such.

Allowing exceptions for the minimum age of marriage, violates a
child’s right to protection. Parental consent may be abused in
the sense that it may unnecessarily be given simply because 1) a
girl is pregnant and the family would like to avoid the
embarrassment of an unmarried daughter falling pregnant, 2)
perhaps they want to avoid the responsibility of having to feed
one more mouth, 3) sometimes the consent may even be sought by
the child, but the parents themselves may force a child to marry
hoping they will receive financial and material assistance from
the husband. It is recommended therefore that countries which
still provide for exceptions to allow underage marriage with
parental consent or court’s authorization to abolish such laws
and allow for no exceptions to the minimum age of marriage.

Secondly the above provision promotes forced marriages. A
forced marriage normally takes place when the bride, groom or
both do not want to get married but are forced to by others,
usually their families. It is a violation of fundamental human
rights that cannot be justified legally, religiously or
culturally. It is traumatic and can ruin people’s lives.
Ordinarily, forcing an adult to marry another adult is always met
with stiff opposition. Forcing a child to marry an adult is met
with an even stronger opposition. Forcing a child to marry an
adult who raped her is just sickening and should not be allowed
for any reason whatsoever.

Thirdly, Article 475 indirectly causes suicide. Asking a
girl to marry her rapist can lead to so much depression which is
one of the main causes of suicide. Having no reasonable way out,
one's best option could just be suicide. In Morocco, this
controversial provision has resulted in some rape victims to
commit suicide. In March 2012, Amina Fillali, a sixteen year old
girl from a small town in the north of Morocco ended her days by
swallowing rat poison after being forced to marry her rapist. Two
months later, Safae, a 15 year old girl from Tangier who was also
forced to marry her rapist after he impregnated her. She
attempted to commit suicide for the second time. Four months
later, Chaimae, an 11 year old girl ended her days after she was
raped. In November 2013, 16 year old Amina Tamiri committed
suicide while her family was making arrangements for her to marry
her rapist. Furthermore, it could equally be assumed that Article
475 could potentially lead to murder. Most rape victims would
love to see their assailant dead therefore, bringing them
together in marriage could just easily fast track that.

Fourthly, it provides an easy way out for rapists. One of
the main purposes of criminal laws and penalties is to serve as a
deterring agent that prevents criminals from indulging in certain
criminal acts. Penalties such as a lengthy jail sentence or a
heavy fine are enough to prevent some criminals from performing
certain acts. Penalties that provide an easy way out would always
be accepted by criminals and would not deter them from committing
certain crimes. Under Moroccan law, rape is punishable by 5 to 10
years in prison, rising between 10 and 20 years if the victim is
a minor. This is a good incentive to stop most men from raping
minors. But when another provision says that you are free from
this sentence if you marry the minor you raped, then a man could
just rape a girl because there is a 60 percent chance that he
could end up marrying the girl. Even if the man does not like the
girl, he would still prefer marrying her to 20 years in prison.
Such a provision must be repealed.

In addition, most parents of rape victims who agree that
their daughters be married out to the person who raped them do so
just because of the family name, honor and tradition irrespective
the girl's feelings. In some societies, the loss of a woman’s
virginity outside of wedlock is considered a dishonour to herself
and her family even if she is raped. They would rather make
arrangements for the rape victims to marry their attackers. This
is so wrong and emphasizes the negative role parents and
traditions sometimes play in the lives of children. Any
reasonable parent would know that the paramount consideration
should be the welfare of the child, her well being, and her
happiness. They should be thinking of ways to help her overcome
the trauma of rape rather than giving her out in marriage to her
rapist to rape her again and again all in the guise of protecting
the family name and honor. The family’s honor does not equal a
human life; a rape victim is not a product for the family to
trade for their honor.

For a while now there has been a public outcry in Morocco for the
repeal of Section 475 of the Penal Code. The Justice and Human
Rights Commission of Morocco’s parliament has proposed removing a
paragraph from the penal code that allows a rapist to escape
prosecution by marrying his underage victim. A Moroccan
parliamentary panel voted to repeal it. This repeal has been
endorsed by the Justice and Development Party, the moderate
Islamist group that leads the government. This is a positive step
in the right direction. The removal of article 475 would be a
step forward in changing conservative attitudes. There is an
online petition for the removal of article 475. If you believe
that this article should be repealed, show your support by
signing the petition.

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Voices of Youth (VOY) was founded in 1995 as UNICEF’s online place for young people to learn more about issues affecting their world. Today, VOY is a vibrant community of youth bloggers from all over the world, offering inspiring, original insight and opinion on a variety of topics. Everyone is welcome to write, film, comment and engage in discussions. Let’s go!